September 5-6. As the culmination of the Shimonoseki Campaign, a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control Shimonoseki Straits of Japan by joint naval forces from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū. In this battle, the Bomabardment, destroyed the Prince of Nagato’s ability to wage war. Unable to match the firepower of the international fleet, and […]

The 34th Pennsylvania Infantry (5th Pennsylvania Reserves) Monument at Gettysburg is located south of Gettysburg on the Big Round Top. It was dedicated in 1890, after the extensive number of battlefield monument dedications that took place in 1889 on the 25th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The view of the monument pictured above is […]

The death notice of Henry B. Ferree (1844-1903) appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot on 18 April 1903: Henry Feree, a highly respected citizen of Lykens Township, died on Tuesday afternoon. The deceased was a sufferer from miners’ asthma. His age was some sixty years. Interment was made in the Lutheran and Reformed Cemetery at Gratz, […]

From the Diary of William Thomas, the following was reported in his entry for 1 June 1862: Fred Metzer of our company was shot Through the Head by a pistol while Lieut Gratz was cleaning it. He expired in few moments After he was shot. William Thomas was a member of Company B of the […]

In researching men of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, a company mainly consisting of men from the Lykens Valley area of Pennsylvania, the name of John Weaver posed a problem in determining a correct birth and death date, as well as other genealogical information. In the process of examining the records, a second man […]

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Norman Gasbarro, Ed.D., is a genealogical/historical researcher and writer living in Philadelphia, PA. Norm taught history for over twenty-five years. He is a graduate of Muhlenberg College with a major in history and holds advanced degrees from Rowan University (NJ) and Columbia University (NY).